Ex-ISIS Supporter Kills ROTC Officer at Virginia Campus; Michigan Synagogue Attacked Soon After

Two violent attacks struck less than two hours apart Thursday — one at Old Dominion University in Virginia, the other at a synagogue near Detroit — leaving one person dead and renewing national concerns about domestic security.

At Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former Virginia Army National Guard specialist who had served prison time for providing material support to the Islamic State, opened fire in a classroom after yelling "Allahu akbar" and asking whether those present were holding an ROTC event, according to authorities and court papers. He killed Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, an ROTC leader, and wounded two others before ROTC students subdued and killed him, officials said. FBI Director Kash Patel called the shooting an act of terrorism on social media. One of the wounded has been released from the hospital. The other remains in fair condition, Sentara Health said.

Jalloh, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Sierra Leone, pleaded guilty in 2017 to terrorism-related charges and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was released early after completing a drug treatment program — a move that raised questions, since inmates serving terrorism sentences are typically ineligible for such programs, according to officials. He had been on probation and taking online classes at the university at the time of the shooting.

Nearly simultaneously, Ayman Mohammad Ghazali, 41, of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, waited outside Temple Israel — one of the nation's largest Reform synagogues — for roughly two hours before ramming his vehicle into the building and firing through the windshield. He fatally shot himself after his vehicle became stuck and caught fire, FBI Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan said. A security officer was knocked unconscious by the vehicle, but all 140 children and staff inside escaped injury. An official in Ghazali's Lebanese hometown told authorities his two brothers, a niece and a nephew had been killed in an Israeli airstrike during Ramadan the week prior. The FBI described the attack as targeting the Jewish community but said it had not yet gathered sufficient evidence to classify it as terrorism.

For Treasure Coast residents — home to active ROTC programs at Indian River State College and several Jewish congregations in Martin and St. Lucie counties — both incidents underscore the importance of local security preparedness and community vigilance, federal officials say. Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard credited preparation and training for limiting casualties at the synagogue.

The FBI is leading both investigations. No federal charges had been announced as of Friday.

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